Celebrating Trailblazers This LGBTQ+ History Month

LGBTQ+ History Month serves as a powerful reminder of the struggles and successes of the LGBTQ+ community and that’s why this LGBTQ+ History Month, we at Hodge Jones & Allen celebrate some of the trailblazers who have broken boundaries, changed lives, and both shaped and redefined the world.

LGBTQ+ History Month takes place every year from the 1st to the 28th of February, and it is an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the history of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans, and non-binary (LGBTQ+) community. It is also a timely reminder for us at Hodge Jones & Allen to celebrate progress towards widening LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion in our workplace, considering what more can be done, as well as reminding all of us of the struggles and successes of the LGBTQ+ community.

This month is also an opportunity to recognise the contributions made by the LGBTQ+ community towards movements such as civil rights, raising awareness of the LGBTQ+ community’s history and to promote equality. To that end, members of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee compiled a list of four inspirational LGBTQ+ individuals in current and recent times, as well as those from the past.

Marsha P. Johnson (1945-1992) – American transgender activist and pioneer

Marsha P. Johnson was an African-American drag queen and trans-rights activist from America, whose activism in the 1960s and 70s had a significant impact on the LGBTQ+ community.

At the time of her activism, being gay was classified as a mental illness in the United States, where gay people were regularly threatened and assaulted by police, and were shunned by many in society.

After moving to New York City in 1963, Johnson embraced her identity and was a key figure in the 1969 Stonewall riots. The next year, Johnson and Sylvia Rivera established the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a group committed to helping homeless transgender youth in New York City.

Patrick Trevor-Roper (1916-2004) – eye surgeon and activist who helped decriminalise homosexuality in the UK

Patrick Trevor-Roper was just one of only three witnesses that could be convinced to appear before the Wolfenden Committee – a 1957 government appointed group that was brought about to investigate whether male homosexuality should remain a crime in the United Kingdom.

Trevor-Roper was an openly gay British eye surgeon, and he was brought before the Wolfenden Committee in 1957, purpose of the committee was to investigate whether homosexuality should remain a crime in the United Kingdom.  He was able to provide to engage with the committee to challenge their views and to progress the decriminalisation of sexuality.

He also argued that the age of consent should be lowered to 16 and raised the concerns surrounding mental health and suicide. As a result, the committee recommended that “homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be a criminal offence”. Homosexuality was fully decriminalised in 1967 in the UK.

He was also one of the co-founders of The Terrence Higgins Trust in 1982, which remains the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charities.

Lady Phyll – co-founder and chief executive of UK Black Pride

UK Black Pride was founded by Lady Phyll in 2005 to give a voice to the minority communities within the wider LGBTQ+ community, and ontinues to be one of the most diverse parts of the movement.

A lesbian activist of Ghanaian descent, Lady Phyll has been politically active since her school days. She has strived to “promote unity and co-operation among all Black people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Middle Eastern and Latin American descent, as well as their friends and families, who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender” with her work.

She was also the executive director of charity Kaleidoscope Trust, which campaigns for LGBTQ+ rights around the world, and publicly refused an MBE in 2016.

Maureen Colquhoun (1928-2021) – Britain’s first openly lesbian MP

Maureen Colquhoun was a member of parliament for Northampton North as part of the Labour Party – and was Britain’s first openly lesbian MP. Knowledge of her sexuality became public in 1976, when it was reported that she left her husband, with whom she shared three children, for the editor of queer magazine Sappho, Barbara Todd. The pair remained together until Todd’s death in 2020.

After she was deselected from parliament due to her sexuality, she appealed the decision and remained an MP until losing her seat in the 1979 election.

Besides the contextual significance of being Britain’s first lesbian MP, Colquhoun’s efforts were fundamental in campaigning for LGBTQ+ and women’s rights. Before leaving parliament, Colquhoun introduced a bill designed to protect sex workers.

Here is to a month of reflection, celebrations, and remembering the history of the LGBTQ+ movement.